Same Store Retail Sales Remain Robust

Same store sales were up 5.4 percent year-on-year in the September 15 week, decelerating by 0.9 percentage points from the prior week's growth pace, the second strongest in over 13 years. Month-to-date sales versus the prior month were up just 0.3 percent, but although the full month year-on-year gain shrank by 0.4 percentage points to 5.9 percent, it was still the second highest level recorded this year. Despite the week's deceleration, Redbook's same store year-on-year sales growth remains robust and in a long-term uptrend, pointing to similar strength in ex-auto ex-gas retail sales.